Ward Named MPSF Athlete of the Week After Record-Breaking Meet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – After setting a trio of school records at last weekend's Texas Invite, senior Andrea Ward has been named the MPSF Female Athlete of the Week, as announced by the conference.

The San Leandro, Calif. native was able to set a new program mark on each of the three days of the meet.

In the opening day, she swam a 51.76 to place first in the 100 meter butterfly prelims. That time met the NCAA automatic cut, ensuring her a spot in Minneapolis come March.

On day two of the meet, she set a new school record with a 1:47.70 mark in the 200 meter freestyle. She wrapped up the tournament with a record 1:56.11 time in the 200 butterfly. Both of those times are worthy of NCAA consideration.

Ward is the first three-time Female Athlete of the Week in swimming.

"Andrea has been one of our better swimmers all year," said UCSB head coach Gregg Wilson. "It was a fantastic meet for her and we're very proud of what she was able to accomplish."

Ward and the rest of the Gauchos will next hit the pool from Jan. 10-11, when they travel to the Nevada to take on the Wolf Pack and UNLV to take on the Rebels, respectively.